









A TRIP 


TO 


THE DIAMOND FIELDS 

OF SERRO FRIO, BRAZIL 

(DISTRICTO DIAMANTINO) 



OLAF e; ray 

ATTORNEY AT LAW 


CHICAGO, ILLS. 


PiUNTEj) iiY Gijs. G. Martin 701 West North Avenue 

Chicago, Illinois. 

Ho4,^ 








CONVEYANCE IN COMFORT BEYOND THE RAILROAD. 












' A TRIP TO BRAZIL 

Near the end of the month of September, 1903, I left Chicago 
for Brazil as attorney for the BRAZILIAN DIAMOND, GOLD & 
DEVELOPING COMPANY, to look into the legal aspect of things 
relative to titles, rights, privileges, obligations and general business con¬ 
ditions under the laws of Brazil. 

On arriving in New York, I found the steamer Bellagio of the 
SIonian line of Hamburg, about to leave for Rio de Janeiro and I took 
first class passage on this boat from New York to Rio, paying $100 
for my ticket. From New York to Rio is about 6,000 miles, which 
distance was covered in 24 days; touching at the old English colony 
of Barbados and at the Brazilian port of Pernambuco. All hands in 
the fore-castle of the Bellagio were Scandinavians, except the boat¬ 
swain, who was a Swedish speaking Finlander. On the upper deck we 
carried a large number of Merino sheep and some young pigs, shipped 
to Brazil for breeding purposes. 

We were five cabin passengers. We remained one half day in 
the harbor of Bridgetown, at Barbados and visited the famous Marine 
Hotel which had recently . been bought by an American at judicial 
sale in the Chancery courts of London, where litigation for a number 
of years had been going on regarding this valuable property. It is 
located on the ocean side of the island of Barbados, surrounded by 
tropical vegetation, built in modern style with excellent service and 
rccommodation, and is much sought by travelers from England and 
the United States, who come to this hotel to stay during the winter 
months, enjoying the constantly blowing north-east trade "wind and 
the pure gentle fresh air. 

The trip from Barbados to Pernambuco took nine days. The original 
Indian name for Pernambuco is “Itamaraca,” and means “Stone with 
hole in.’’ The inner harbor is protected by a shell and coral reef 
against which the ocean waves break, leaving a smooth anchorage inside*. 
The population of the town is about 150,000 ; the streets are miserably 
narrow and the city was formerly ,the worst place in South America 
for yellow fever. An English company has built artesian water works 
for the city, and the street cars, telegraph, railways and many other 
local improvements have been financed largely by English capitalists. 
There are about 350 English people in town; they have their own 
Episcopal church, commercial club and graveyard. A Swede named 
Herman Lindgren, owns a large powder factory and carries on an 
extensive business generally. He enjoys the title of “O Rei de Per¬ 
nambuco,” (The King of Pernambuco.) Five Norwegian ships were 
in the harbor, being about one-third of all the vessels there. 

Very little coal has, so far, been found in Brazil and wood was 
rather scarce in Pernambuco. Visiting the market I found wood sold 
by weight and small pieces were being put on and taken off the scales 
to balance little parcels from 10 to 25 pounds, which women and 
children bought and carried away on their head?, 


_ 4 — 


Some American and English dentists were doing exceptionally well 
in their profession. The Brazilians, as a people, have noticeably very 
poor teeth and it is good taste to use tooth-picks at the table. The 
most proficient and most patronized dentists seemed to be either Amer¬ 
ican or English. About $10 an hour was their charge for services. 

The language of Brazil is Portuguese, which approaches Spanish 
very closely and is generally understood to be more like Latin than 
any other living tongue. French, however, is recognized as the lead¬ 
ing language of Latin origin and the books of tuition in special branches 
in many of the colleges and higher institutions of learning are in French. 
Gentlemen of scholarly pretentions must know French and one may 
go all through Brazil and find people everywhere who understand that 
language; though at small places far inland, the Catholic priests (padres) 
may be the only ones. As a rule the priests are very pleasant and 
obliging toward strangers. The working class in Pernambuco are mostly 
negroes. There is very little sickness, except some smallpox, and this 
disease they consider practically curable, while they dread the more 
dangerous “Pesta Bubonica” (bubonic plague). Going through the 
streets I failed to see a dog or cat except a couple of St. Bernards. 
Monkeys, parrots and singing birds were sold in many places. On 
board the Bellagio, we had two litters of kittens and these were traded 
off by the sailors and firemen at a valuation of from $1.00 to $1.50 per 
kitten. 

A gang of laborers from the shore discharged the cargo for Per¬ 
nambuco. At meal time these people gathered around a large wooden 
or tin dish filled with a sort of porridge of pieces of meat and corn 
meal; they rinsed their hands a little and simultaneously dived into 
the dish with their fingers, rolling small balls of meat and corn meal 
and threw them, dexterously into their mouths. The Chinese use chop 
sticks, but the Brazilian workmen, as a rule, discard even this little 
convenience. They use no bread whatever; corn meal and boiled black 
beans take its place. 

In Rio de Janeiro. ' ' ' '' 



We arrived in Rio de Janeiro on the 20th of October. The en¬ 
trance to the harbor is charming; there are small islands, peaks, and 
peninsulas topping out of the waters, and it resembles a small part of 
the ^-eniarkable sea-coast of Norway. The harbor itself covers about 
50 square miles and is one of the finest and largest in the world. The 
famous “Sugar Loaf” mountain peak is known to sailors everywhere 
and the oddly shaped “Corcovado,” (hunch back) is another one of 
the characteristic freaks of nature, that are seen on entering Rio. We 
anchored near the old Dutch fortress in the harbor, among vessels of 
all nations. 

The two best hotels in Rio are Estrangeiros and Internacional, 
the latter is located near the top of the mountain “Santa Teresa,” 
back of the city, and is reached by electric cars from the city; these 
street cars run upon and along the ancient elevated structure of the former 
aqueducts part of the way. It takes about 40 minutes to reach hotel 
Internacional. From this point there is a grand .view of the city and 
harbor below. The price is 12 milreis ($.3.00) a day for private room 
with .all accommodations, and the table is excellent. This hotel was 
run by an enterprising German who had also built another one. on 
the top of Santa Teresa. 


the top c 





- 5 - 


“Rio,” means river, and “Janeiro” means January—making the 
River of January;” there is, .however, no river, but the discoverer 
of the harbor (Alfonso de Souza) believed, at the time, in the month 
of January, that he had the mouth of a river before him. It is quite 
common in Brazil, to give the names of dates and months to places, 
rivers, streets, etc. Thus in ,Rio the leading business street is called 
‘Rua Primeiro de Marco,” (First of March Street;) another leading 
street is called “Rua de Quinze Setembro,” , (Fifteenth of September 
Street.) 1 he most prominent street of the city for leading retail stores 
is “Rua do.Ouvidor;” the latter is only 30 feet wide with little cement 
sidewalks; in fact, the whole street is nothing more than a sidewalk. 
No vehicles of any kind are allowed ,on this street and the pedestrians 
swarm in the middle. Rio de Janeiro is the Federal capital of Brazil 
and the present Mayor is a man of advanced ideas. He has brought 
about many great improvements and recently obtained for the city a 
loan of $40,000,000 to rebuild the docks and wharves .and improve¬ 
ments along the harbor. This loan was backed by the Federal Gov¬ 
ernment and the contract was given last November to^ the firm of 
Walker & Co., of London, England. 

On staying in Rio a short time, an American . realizes readily that 
although he is on the western hemisphere, England and Germany 
predominate in the financial world. .There are three English banks 
doing an extensive business, namely: The London & River Plate Bank; 
the London Brazilian Bank, and the ; British Bank of South America. 
There is no American bank and few large industries or financial en¬ 
terprises are conducted by Americans or American capital. The Amer¬ 
ican flag was not seen in the harbor of Rio and the American dollar 
is of very small consequence, compared with the British pound sterling. 

The money system of Brazil resembles what is known in our coun¬ 
try as the “Green Back” system. The paper currency reads : “For value 
received, the treasurer pays to bearer (blank) milreis;” nothing is 
mentioned about payment either in gold or silver. When I came to 
Rio, the exchange stood: 1 mil-reis (gold) 54.6 cents, 1 mil-reis (paper) 
24 cents in American , money. From day to day the exchange varied 
and before making payment in considerable amounts, it became neces¬ 
sary to look up the quotation for the day, at the banks where ex¬ 
change lists were conspicuously exposed to the public. Ordinar’ily, 
1 milreis was considered the equivalent of 25 cents, and small trans¬ 
actions were made daily on that basis. 

A,Norwegian named S. Wollner, carried on a very large exchange 
business (casa de cambio) in the business center of the city. He 

was fifty-three years old, had lived in Rio over thirty years and com¬ 
menced work at,his trade as a watch maker. He is now a very wealthy 
man of great standing in financial matters. 

The United States Consul in Brazil, Mr. Eugene Seeger, is a 

Chicago man ,and a German by birth; he was well pleased with his 
position and enjoyed good health; had no fears whatever of yellow 

fever or the bubonic plague. He lives in Petropolis, one of the pretty 
suburbs of Rio, with his family. The Consul was pleased to meet 

another Chicagoan, and we engaged in much interpting conversation 
about matters at home. He rendered me much assistance and offered 
valuable advice regarding affairs in Brazil. In foreign lands, a traveler 
realizes the important services rendered by our American Consuls. 

The Consul for Sweden and Norway in Rio, Mr. 1. M. Bolstad, 


is a Norwegian by birth and has served at his post many years; he 
has had the yellow fever, but yet thinks well of Rio, both as a business 
and residence place. Mr. Bolstad has much to attend to in his con¬ 
sulate connected with the large shipping interests of Norway in these 
parts. 

There is a very good sewer system built by an English firm. Some 
yellow fever and smallpox is always found in Rio, but these diseases 
are not as ravaging as in former days. At the time I was there, the 
bubonic plague was present, and a good many died from that dreadful 
malady. It attacks the glands of the body to begin with, and makes 
short work of its victims. The Austrian Consul died from that , dis¬ 
ease while I was down there. V^alking through the streets of Rio, the 
odor of creoline, a .chemical disinfectant, was met with all over, par¬ 
ticularly in the more squalid residence portions of the city. Brazilians 
from the interior were more apprehensive of catching the plague than 
foreigners. Careful diet and cleanly habits are the best preventives. 
Rio has a population of about 500,000, and considering the great num¬ 
ber of people, the yellow fever and bubonic pest are not as formidable 
as we imagine in the States, when we read and think of South Amer¬ 
ica. It must be considered that our Northern diseases, such as pneu¬ 
monia, diptheria, consumption, etc., are comparatively scarce in places 
like Rio. 

While in Rio I visited an alcohol exhibition one night, held at 
Park Fluminense. All kinds of alcoholic machines from Europe and 
the States were on exhibition. The raw sugar cane was piled high. 
Crushing machines and distilling apparatuses were working turning the 
cane into alcohol, which was then used to set in motion the different 
machines. Alcohol is being used as a substitute for coal and the ex¬ 
hibition was calculated to stimulate the invention and use of that kind 
of machinery. An alcohol automobile, the only one I saw in Brazil, 
was in operation in the Park. The power-house machinery was marked 
“Springfield, Ill./’ and that of course pleased me very much. 

Little cups of black coffee (about two spoonfuls) were being served 
all over Rio in little places somewhat like our ice-cream parlors. Iced 
fruits, lemonade, and a variety of good wines were the favorite drinks; 
the coffee, however, ranks as the foremost Brazilian beverage, and is 
considered to have the effect of preventing yellow fever. The people 
drink coffee many times a day, but foreigners down there must exer¬ 
cise some caution, because the preparation is made from pulverized cof¬ 
fee and is very strong. 

In calling at a house in Brazil, it is not customary to knock at 
the door, but the visitor stops about three feet from the door and 
claps his hands three times as a signal that he wishes to commumcate 
with someone inside. Their manner of greeting is different from ours; 
strangers shake hands as we do, but friends and acquaintances walk 
up close and place the right hand on one another’s back, making three 
light taps in an affectionate manner. In concert halls, the public often 
signify their applause by throwing hats in the air and upon the stage 
promiscuously. 

After three days’ stay in Rio, I took the Central Railway as far 
as lit went, on the way to Diamantina. The travel by rail took 27 
hours, and the distance to the end of the railway is about 400 miles. 
The ticket cost $20 and my little baggage as much, because on the 
Brazilian railways they allow no baggage free, except little hand grips. 


- 1 - 


On the way up, I visited Bello Horizonte, the capital of Minas Geraes. 
d his is a new town built within the last ten years on a modern plan. 

At Silva Xavier where the railway passenger service ended, I 
went by freight another ten miles to a town called “Hospital.” At 
this little place I was met by one of the company’s camaradas, (serv¬ 
ants) With about a dozen of the company’s mules, saddles, pack sad¬ 
dles, camp-beds, covers, blankets'^ etc., to make the trip across the 
mountains. We started from Hospital in the forenoon, four in all, 
with 30 mules and three camaradas. One of the fellow travelers was 
an old Brazilian, formerly a nobleman, and once attached to the Court 
of Emperor Dom Pedro. The gentleman’s name was “Visconde de 
Tourinho,” (the last word meaning “Little Bull.”) He served at the 
Court until the dethronement of the Emperor and was present at his 
burial in Paris, 1891. He spoke English and French very fluentl}'-, 
and was a pleasant traveling companion on the way out. The first 
couple of days were rather hard on a beginner in the saddle, but 
after that mule riding became a sport. We stopped the first 
night at a little mule farm called “Getolio,” and the following 
day at seven o’clock we were on muleback again; crossing the Rio 
das Velhas, (old women’s river) later in the day on a pontoon; still 
later, we crossed Rio Parauna in the same manner. We had to un¬ 
load the cargoes from the mules in crossing the rivers. These rivers 
are from two to three hundred feet wide and twelve to fifteen feet 
deep, subject to great floods during the rainy season. Both of these 
rivers are said to carry gold in the sand and a Brazilian mining en¬ 
gineer was making proofs on Rio das Velhas with an American Key¬ 
stone testing machine. The first couple of days’ travel was over a 
territory covered by little hills of crumbling sand stone, with some flat 
dry land here and there, and an occasional creek to cross. There was 
considerable wood, but mostly small trees crippled by heat and drought. 
The vegetation was tropical, but scarce and had suffered from the long 
dry season. 

There are two seasons in this part of Brazil, tlie dry and the 
rainy season. The latter commences about the end of November and 
lasts about four months, the heaviest rainfalls occur in January and 
February. From the beginning to the end of November it is as a 
rule, a continuous stretch of dry weather. • 

The soil is red everywhere and the deepest reefs and washouts 
show no other color. It is very fertile and during the rainy season 
produces rich crops with very little cultivation. 

The second days’ travel from Hospital goes through a wooded coun¬ 
try for hours. We passed through bushes in Indian file, one mule 
after another. The road is simply a deep mule path, and the animals 
being small, our feet in many places touched the ground. It is no¬ 
body’s business apparently, to keep the road in repair; where a tree 
falls down across the road, it remains in that position for years and 
the mules must beat a new track around the obstruction. The second 
day we saw ahead of us in the blue distance, the outlines of Serro 
Frio; the tops of this region seemed to mingle with the clouds and 
as we approached we wondered how in the world to climb and get 
across. There are no farms, (in our sense of the word) to be seen. 
The people of that region live in little houses made of small striplings 
woven together and plastered over with red clay, the roof being mostly 
of straw or sod, sometimes of primitive tiles. The ground serves as 


- 8 - 


k floor; there are no chimneys and the smoke from the fireplace goes 
out between the roof and the walls where there is an 18-inch opening; 
windows are not seen, but little openings with shutters are customary; 
such are the houses of this rural population. No implements of any 
kind exist on the premises; shovels, spades, wheelbarrows, axes, and 
other things of that nature are not found. The people live in the most 
primitive manner and depend upon fruit, a cow or two, some pigs, and 
some chickens for existence, all of which animals pick their living 
wthout human assistance from one end of the year to the other. Near 
these little huts are commonly seen sugar cane, coffee bushes, a few 
banana, orange, and lemon trees. There is no cultivation of the soil 
or clearing of stretches of ground; corn and beans, the two principal 
staples, are planted on small patches near the hut, between trees, stumps, 
hills, stones and other obstacles that are never moved but always 
dodged around. The farming implements seem to consist of a sharp 
stick to make a hole in the ground to drop bean and corn seed into. 
Toward the end of the dry season, they set fire to the dry vegetation 
and that is all the clearing ever done. 

Once in a long while, a larger place (Fazenda) is met with and 
there we find a higher order of things. Antiquated farming imple¬ 
ments, generally a flour mill worked by overshot wooden water¬ 
wheels, a distillery for making the native brandy, (Cachaca) and a 
place for dairy work. There are no swamps, the ground is hard and 
dry throughout, and is either red, deep soil with some vegetation or 

in other places naked sand stone. There are no mosquitos or sting¬ 

ing flies, but yet there are great varieties of insects in the woods and 
shrubbery. Brazil is even reputed to have the richest of insect life. 
The ants build hives or houses of red clay and join the particles 
together in such a durable manner that some of the great number of 
ant hives are from two to six feet high and about three feet in 
diameter at the bottom, and so hard that they resemble brick. They 

are found quite often built upon branches high in the trees, and upon 

ledges of rock high above ground; some of these remarkable ant hives 
are reputed to be centuries old and constitute one of the natural curi¬ 
osities of Brazil. Bugs of many kinds and colors creep upon the 
ground, and little boys make a business of catching them in quantities, 
selling them to the jewelry trade for use in making ornaments. Snakes 
are scarce in the dry season, but become numerous when the floods 
set in. 

In the Serro Frio district of Brazil there are not many birds to 
be seen; the most noted ones are the Colibries or humming birds; 
these little ones are beautiful and are called “Beija-flor” (kiss flower) 
in Portuguese. Towards evening of the second day we brought up 
at the most noted place on the road, being a large Fazenda (farm) 
20 miles square called Marinho; the owner is one Antonio Denis, whose 
grandfather was a Frenchman, and he speaks and reads French fairly 
well; he has five children which he himself educates, there being no 
schools in that part of the country, except at times when the Catholic 
priests arrive on their circuits. There are 350 head of cattle and a 
great number of sheep and goats on this Fazenda. Mr. Denis raises 
a good deal of sugar cane and runs a large Cachaca distillery, supply¬ 
ing this mountain region with his products. A little river crosses this 
Fazenda and along its course is a luxuriant growth of tropical fruit 
trees and other vegetation. Mr. Denis showed us great hospitality; 


— 0 — 


fruit was so plentiful that it seemed to have iio value and much was 
decaying on the ground without having been gathered up at all. We 
paid 20 milreis ($5.00) for supper, bed, breakfast for two, and in¬ 
cluding also, pasture for the night for the animals. This is a little 
less than the average charge on the way to Diamantina. 

Mr. Denis was born in that country and knew personally many 
of the men within his generation, that had made fortunes on the gold 
and diamond fields of the Serro Frio district. He is himself no miner 
but expressed great pleasure at seeing Americans go into those parts 
with money and means to exploit in a modern manner, what the Bra¬ 
zilians in their day and by their primitive methods could not touch. 
He had offered to sell his Fazenda for $15,000 but thought that he 
would want $25,000 now since activity had commenced to s,'et in. His 
farm lies a day's journey from the beginning of the diamond district. 
On our departure in the morning he filled our saddle bag bottles with 
Cachaca of the first quality. He made me personally a present of the 
skin of a sloth, (Preguica) and gave us more fruit than we could 
carry, and as we spurred up our mules, he shouted “Au Revoir.” 

1 he third day took us over naked mountains rising higher and 
higher until we reached the summit of Serro Frio, about 5,500 feet 
above the level of the ocean. The roads were bad and narrow and at 
places we had to dismount and climb between the rocks ahead of the 
mules. On the very top of the mountain range we passed a nice 
little Fazenda where all sorts of fruits were raised and fine goats and 
cattle pastured. The water in these mountains is ideally clear and 
sweet and the air is pure and rare. 

The diamond region (Districto Diamantino) commences near Serro 
Frio. From the top of the mountain chain we viewed the fields where 
many fabulous fortunes had been taken out in the past. The evening 
of the third day landed us at our last stopping place, named “Tegra.*' 
This place affords very good accommodation for travelers, but the price 
demanded is almost twice that of the previous places on the road. 
There is a small store and Catholic church in Tegra. The fourth day 
on mule-back took us through a singularly interesting country with 
ravines and washouts, which indicated an unusual disturbance of the 
earth’s surface at some time. At a point about ten miles from Diaman¬ 
tina, our cavalcade met a lonely man on horseback, that upon closer 
approach proved to be Mr. Thomas Schlytter, the company’s representa¬ 
tive in Brazil; he looked healthy, though somewhat sunburnt, full of 

life and vigor and he saluted me most cordially on recognition. He 

was anxious to receive news from Chicago, having been away over 

seven months from friends and acquaintances. He turned his horse 
around and piloted out troop toward Diamantina. telling us all about 
the interesting points on the wav. In the distance a couple of church 
steeples loomed up behind the line of naked rocks and Mr. Schlytter 
told us it was Diamantina. 

In Diamantina. 

We arrived safely toward evening of the fifth day and Mr. Schlytter 
had secured quarters for me in the house of his own landlord, Mr. 
Augusto da Matta Machado (Wood Axe). There is no hotel in 

Diamantina and travelers have to stop with private fam'ilies. Mr. 
Matta Machado’s brother was Minister of Foreign Affairs in Brazil 
flufiing the rei^n of Dom Pedro, and the family is one of the leading 


— 10 — 


ones in that part of the republic, both as to wealth and social standing 
generally. They are pure white people of culture and refinement, 
and the house now occupied by them is very old and belonged formerly 
to the Crown of Portugal, during the royal diamond extraction period 
in the early part of the last centur3^ 

The room to which I was assigned adjoined that occupied by Mr. 
Schlytter. The doors were eight feet high; there were no window 
panes, but shutters. The house had eleven rooms and a large dining 
hall, furnished with old but good furniture, including a square piano. 
The family consisted of eleven children, of which four were adult 
daughters, one of which played piano well. 

The second story of the house was occupied as living rooms, and 
the downstairs was used as store rooms, and living rooms for_ three 
camaradas, that attended to the animals. The yard was full of chickens, 
young pigs, and mules. In the rear of the house was a garden about 
50 feet wide and 200 feet long running up and over a steep hill with 
four flights of stairs leading to different sections of the garden. The 
water was very good. There is no sewer system in the city, but the 
streets being very steep and well paved with stone, the refuse is 
washed down by the rain during the wet season and during the dry 
season it is cleaned away chiefly by droves of chickens that swarm 
the streets and do the scavenger work. 

There are no flies, mosquitos or insects in the city. For fuel they 
use wood, which is carried in largely by women and children of the 
poorer classes that have access to the shrubbery for such pur¬ 
poses. The population of the city is estimated at about 9,000 and the 
principal business and industry appears to be gold and diamond min¬ 
ing and trading in the products of such mines. They live well, without 
much excitement. Everybody seems to take life easy and no one is 
in a hurry about anything. Breakfast (Almoco) is taken about eleven 
o’clock and consists generally of meat, oftentimes chicken, boiled 
beans, boiled rice, marmalade and other fruit deserts, nat'ive wine 
(Vinho Nacional) is always on the table. After the meat comes coffee 
served in little cups; the men light their cigarettes and leave the table. 
They maintain French table etiquette. The second meal is the principal 
one and is called “Jantar; it is taken between five and six in the 
afternoon. They have only two meals a day; there is no regular 
bakery in town, and bread is hardly ever used. There are no 
vehicles to be seen in the streets, except ox-teams now and then, but 
long trains of cargo mules come and go at all hours of the day. 

The altitude of the place is about 5,000 feet over the level of 
the ocean. The days are not so very warm, the air is pure and invigorating 
but the nights are very cool throughout the year and strangers feel 
chilly in their beds with two heavy blankets. The sanitary condi¬ 
tions are very good; there is no pest or fever and the people as a 
rule are very healthy. Doctors and druggists find but little to do. 
There is no bank or photographer in town; a newspaper is published 
once in a while during political or other excitement. The sidewalks 
run in the middle of the street and the churches have no pews. The 
Contractor’s building, put up a century ago, during the royal extrac¬ 
tion is now used by the Catholic Bishop for residence and church pur¬ 
poses. The diamond district (Districto Diamantino) forms a judicial 
circuit and the judge is a distinguished Brazilian of high culture and 
scholarly attainments. The court-house with the jail below is located 


VIEW OF DIAMANTINA, SHOWING ITCEMBE MOUNTAIN. 

















m the middle of a small square and the prisoners enjoy unusual liber¬ 
ties, lounging about the iron barred windows looking into the streets, 
reaching out their hands to passers-by for gifts of any kind, such as 
tobacco, cigarettes, coins, fruit and whatever they may be able to get. 
When a stranger happens along they crowd in droves to the windows 
and all beg at once. These are the only beggars I met with in Brazil. 
The female prisoners made handiwork of all kinds and sold their 
articles themselves through the iron barred windows direct to the 
public on the street and in the corridor of the jail. 

Tropical fruit trees are plentiful. They are not in season all at 
the same time but bear fruit by turns; some bear fruit three times a 
year, such as the Jaboticabeira; the fruit of this last mentioned tree 
is the Jaboticaba berry; they grow on the bark of the tree along the 
trunk and branches; in appearance they are somewhat like dark cherries 
but much more tasty and nourishing. 

After a couple of days’ rest in Dianiantina, I w^nt to work investi¬ 
gating matters pertaining to land titles, legislation, taxes, market 
prices, etc., relative to lands purchased by the company I represented. 
Not bding a person skilled or experienced in mining matters, I could 
not personally conduct any investigation as to the mineral richness of 
the lands in question, but I gathered such information ?n a business 
way, as any common sense man of affairs could do. 

History of the Diamond District. 

I tried first to secure the history of the diamond district and learned 
that only one book had ever been published of that kind. It was 
called “Memorias do Districto Diamantino,” and was written in the 
year of 1862 by Dr. Felicio dos Santos, who was a patriot, a jurist, 
and a practising attorney at law in the city of Dianiantina. The book 
was out of print and for days I tried in vain to secure a copy, when 
I learned that a son of the author was a practising attorney in the 
city of Rio de Janeiro. I put myself in communication with him and 
secured one of those rare copies. He had only three books left, of 
which he gave me one. It was written in Portuguese and the follow¬ 
ing historical matters were taken from the book: 

Rumors of the gold bearing tracts of Serro Frio which were dis¬ 
covered at the end of the 17th century attracted a large number of 
adventurers from other parts of Brazil; they arrived in large bands 
called Bandeiros. It is supposed that the name “Serro Frio” which 
they gave this wild tract is a translation of the Indian word (Iviturury) 
which means (The cold mountain.) 

Regarding the founding of Dianiantina tradition relates: After the 
discovery of Rio Peruruca and Rio Grande a band of adventurers fol¬ 
lowed the upper bank of the latter and were confronted by a great 
marsh. Beyond was seen a little river flowing from the mountain 
ridge on the east and emptying after a short course into the Rio 
Grande. They named the little river Tijuco, an Indian word signify¬ 
ing “mire.” The ground was found to be very rich in gold. ^ The 
gold bearing stratum reached from the base to the top of the adjacent 
mountain elevation and far along the banks of the Rio Grande until 
it reached the Sao Francisco river. But the banks of the Tijuco \vere 
the richest. Rivers from the mountain on both sides washed the gold¬ 
laden soil down into the marsh which lay like a reservoir below. 

News of the discovery spread quickly and a new settlement was 


14 — 


once formed. For better protection against wild animals and In¬ 
dians, the inhabitants of Periiriico moved to Tijuco, which, though the 
younger town, was the larger of the two, because more gold was found 
there. Thus Tijuco, the present Diamantina, was even at this early 
day an important place. A chapel was erected and the first huts built 
near the present Rua da Beata, Rua de Burgalhao and Rua de Espirito 
Santo. The present market place Bom Fin was at that time a little 
green plain, shaded by large trees under whose branches the inhabit¬ 
ants gathered to enjoy rest, song and mirth, after a hard day’s work. 

Nothing is really known as to where and when the first diamonds 
were discovered in Brazil. This is natural inasmuch as the first in¬ 
habitants sought only for gold and did not recognize the value of the 
diamond. The little stones whose shape and beauty attracted attention 
were by some put away as keepsakes but more often used as playthings. 
Certain it is, that in the year of 1729 a number of these stones were 
sent to Portugal to be examined. When it was thus proven that they 
were diamonds, topaz and other precious stones of unusual purity, there 
was great rejoicing at the court of King John the Fifth. Celebrations 
were held, and feasts given, not only in Lisbon, but throughout the 
whole country. In all countries Te Deum was sung in the churches, 
religious processions arranged and thanks given to God for this epoch- 
makiing discovery, which it was thought would bring rich blessings to 
the world. The Pope and all the princes of Europe sent congratula¬ 
tions to the King of Portugal. 

Those who came first found rich reward for time and labor spent 
and soon Lisbon was flooded with Brazilian diamonds. This awakened 
the envy of the court and the crown then decided to appropriate this 
wondrous wealth. In accordance with this decision a royal decree was 
issued March 26, 1733, forbidding the utilization of the diamond fields. 
This interdiction covered all the fields except the banks of the Rio do 
Inferno and Rio Jequitinhonha whose shores were to be divided into 
lots and rented to the highest bidder. It also required that no bid 
should be accepted less than $30 per year pr. Braca quadrada (about 4 
square meters.) 

This decree which contained many tyrannical orders was carried 
out in all its severity in spite of numerous protests. The high rent 
was almost prohibitive. The poor could not pay and the rich would 
not part with their money under such unjust conditions. The result 
was that many were robbed of a livelihood and were obliged to for¬ 
sake their homes. 

In the interest of the crown a contract system was organized in 
1740 whereby privileges were given, under certain conditions, for a 
limited time, to utilize the diamond fields. Joao Fernandes de Oliveira 
and Francisco Fereirado Silva were the first contractors. Their con¬ 
tract lasted from Jan. 1, 1740, to Dec. 31, 1743. They pledged them¬ 
selves to drive 600 slaves in and near the river Jequitinhonha, begin¬ 
ning at Lavra do Mato and up along the river. They had also the 
privileges of continuing their work on Rio do Inferno and .Rio das 
Pedras. The names of the 600 slaves were to be kept in a book and 
for each of them the contractors paid 230 milreis per year to the Crown. 
They were forbidden to work a greater number of slaves. It is said 
that occasionally the contractors had many more slaves—up to 4,000, 
but the revenue officers kept sharp watch, and any breach of contract 


CITY MARKET IN DIAMANTINA 











17 — 


was severely punished A renewal of the contract for four years was 
granted the first contractors. 

The third contract was given to Filisberto Caldeira Brant, Jan. 1, 
5748, to Dec. 31, 1751. The conditions were aljout the same as in the 
first contract, except that only 400 slaves were permitted to work in the 
Serro Frio district and the remaining 200 in the newly discovered dia¬ 
mond fields in the Province of Goyas. 

During the dry season he was assigned to the river bed of the 
Jequitinhonhia near Lavra do Mato also Rio das Pedras and Rio do 
Inferno. In the dry season he was to work adjacent land designated 
by the Intendant. 

At this point in the narrative of Dr. Santos, it may be stated that 
the Brazilian Diamond, Gold & Developing Company of the United 
States has under contract of purchase three river claims at the junction of 
the river Jequitinhonha and Rio do Inferno. The Rio do Inferno signifies 
the river of hell, and the country around by reason of its rough and 
imposing nature may properly be called the infernal region. The 
mountains on the east side of Rio do Inferno rise almost perpendicu¬ 
lar from the river to an altitude of from one to two thousand feet, 
and it looks as if the earth at some time had gone through volcanic 
upheavals. 

The upper limit of the company’s claims on the Rio do Inferno is 
at a small creek called “Beija Florimmediately below this creek is 
a series of waterfalls affording ample horse-power for installation ^ of 
hydraulic machinery. Farther down the river towards the junction 
are very large deposits of sand and gravel over and between which, 
the river ffows down towards and below the junction forming a basin 
filled with dredgeable material. On the west side of Rio do Inferno 
near the junction is located a small town of about one hundred in¬ 
habitants, called Itaipaba, which is an Indian word and means ‘ Round 
Stone.” In the immediate vicinity of this place commenced the work¬ 
ings in the Serro Frio diamond fields, and were kept up all through 
the contract period and the subsequent Royal extraction. ^ The neigh¬ 
borhood of Itaipaba was the center of activity. The little town is 
now simply an aggregation of small dilapidated huts and the present 
remnant of its former population subsists on small gold and diamond 
washings in accessible places where the old tailings have been worked 
many times before. A Catholic Church, once the pride of the place 
is now a ruin. I gathered much information from the family of Cap¬ 
tain Rodriges. They had lived for several generations at Itaipaba 
and knew all that had been going on there for nearly a century past 
and they stated that no attempt has been made to empty the^ gold and 
diamonds from the bottom of the river at and near the junction of the 
rivers, excepting the understanding made by Senhor Anselmo de Andrade 

some four years ago. , 

Cantain Rodriges took us along down the river to the immense sand 

bar, where yet to-day are some evidences of Anselmo’s work. A large 
sum of money was spent in digging a deep trench down through t le 
accumulated sand and gravel and the walls were planked as they went 
down: pumps were used to keep the water out. When the work had pro¬ 
ceeded in that manner deep enough to reach the stratum of gravel in 
which the diamonds are found, floods set in filling up the trench and 
ruining the work entirely. ‘Senhor Anselmo is a partner of the largest 
diamond dealer in Diamantina, and he told me personally of the attempt 


18 - 


made by him at Itaipaba, stating that it cost him a very large amount of 
money and that the treasures at the bottom of the basin near Itaipaba 
could hardly be extracted in the primitive Brazilian way on account of the 
floods and the rush of water from below. 

It was difficult to see how it could have been possible to exploit this 
place because natural conditions seemed to forbid the turning of the river 
course and the volume of the water is too great and the bottom too deep 
for ordinary methods. A dredge would seem to be the only practical 
means for raising the sand and gravel from the bottom of that inaccessible 
basin. 

Itaipaba is 'about fourteen miles from Diamantina and the road down 
towards the river was built up and along the mountains by the Portuguese 
government at much labor and great cost during the slavery period. 
Half way between Diamantina and Itaipaba lies Curra Linho, which is 
to-day a very flourishing little town of about one hundred inhabitants. 
At this place a fabulous wealth of diamonds was taken out during the 
Crown extraction and it became famous all over the world for its rich 
fields. Curra Linho has the honor of being the last place in the Serro 
Frio district where the Crown of Portugal operated, and there through 
the fearless and successful opposition of the people, the hated usurpa¬ 
tion over the diamond workings in the State of Minas found its grave. 

Close to Itaipaba and near the road to Diamantina lies a famous 
diamond stretch called Cavallo Morte (Dead Horse). This territory 
was bought last year by the Tarbutt Company of London, England. 
They were making proofs in different ways upon the ground while I 
was down there and contemplated putting in hydraulic machinery to 
extract the diamonds. 

After the preceding deviation we shall now take up again the his¬ 
torical narrative of Dr. Santos: 

Not enough diamonds were found in Goyas to defray the expenses 
of the enterprise, and Brant was permitted to remove the 200 slaves 
from Goyas to Serro Frio' to work with the 400 slaves at that place. 

Felisberte Brant acquired great wealth and lived like a prince but 
was loved by all the people as they profited by his far-reaching activity. 
On account of intrigues and participation in various incroachments his 
accumulated fortune was confiscated and he himself sent a prisoner to 
Lisbon. He was kept in prison a long time. During the historical earthquake 
in Lisbon, Nov. 1 , 1755, the jail tuml^led down and great numbers of pris¬ 
oners suddenly found themselves free amid the ruins, and among them 
Felisberto Brant. Running out upon the streets he cried in desperation: 
“Thieves !’’ “Give me back the money 3^011 have robbed from me.” He 
rushed in his prison garb to the ministry and said, “I am Felisberto 
Caldeira Brant, contractor for the diamond district of Tiiuco. I have 
waited since 1753 for a settlement of my estate. The jail I was in was 
shaken down by the earthquake, and now I see the light of day. I 
present myself here that I may be assigned to another prison to remain 
until justice is done to me.” Surprised, the minister, Sebastian de Car¬ 
valho, answered, “No need for a prison for one whose conduct is so 
noble. Go where you like. Call again when this misfortune which has 
befallen us is relieved in a measure and justce shall be done in your 
case.” He went to a little place near Lisbon shattered in health and 
died there three months later. His wife and children never succeeded 
in regaining the confiscated possessions, but the family acquired another 
fortune and is now one of the wealthiest and most influential in Brazil. 


(It was through the agency of Aiigiisto Mario Caldeira Brant, a decend- 
ant of the great contractor that Itaipaba was purchased for the Brazilian 
Diamond, Gold ft Developing Company, Mr. Brant acted as agent for 
his uncle who was the owner.) 

Under the 6th contract I'ijuco flourished more than ever; never 
before had so many diamonds been found. 

While digging at one time a trench to drive a waterwheel they found 
in a short time 10,000 oitavos (one oitavo 17 1-2 carats) of diamonds 
besides what the slaves were allowed to keep. When a slave had found 
a certain number of diamonds he was permitted to mine for himself 
the rest of the day. This last contractor was a good man. When this 
great find of diamonds took place he fell on his knees and cried out: 
“Oh Lord, if these treasures should become the means of my per¬ 
dition grant then that all these diamonds turn into coal!” Great quan¬ 
tities of gold were also found there at the same time. In 1771 the 
Portuguese government took the mining into its own hands and under 
the so-called Real Extraccao (Royal Extraction) rich finds were made 
in Pocao de Moreira on the Jequitinhonha river. Regarding the work 
on this river the quoted author says: 

“To use the river Jequitinhonha with profit it must be turned. 
Formerly portions of the river that were broad and shallow were 
sought. Large trenches or ditches were dug beside the river, and its 
water turned from its course, making possible the search for diamonds 
in its bed. Usually however, this method could not be successfully 
used and it became necessary at great expense to build cercas or flumes 
of wood whereby the whole river was raised from its bed. On account 
of natural disadvantages even the cercas were often unavailable. Con¬ 
sequently, there lie to-day in all their virgin wealth the depths of the 
Jequitinhonha beyond the reach of man, until a future time when a 
new generation with superior machinery and more effective means shall 
uncover the centuries old treasures to the wondering eyes of man.” 

(Almost verbatim from D. J. Eelicio dos Santos.) 

The Crown of Portugal commenced to operate the diamond fields by 
a direct system after December 31st, 1771, when the lasj; contract ex¬ 
pired, Three men were appointed to superintend the work in Tijuco 
jointly with Junta Administrativa. all under the ministry of finance in 
Lisbon. This system was organized by royal decree called Livro da 
Capa Verde. (The book with the green cover) of Aug. 2nd, 1771. Un¬ 
der this system the district of Diamantina was governed till Brazil 
received its new constitution in 1822. When the independence of Brazil 
was proclaimed in Diamantina the same year the people shouted: “Viva 
a liberdade” (Live liberty) and “Morras ao Livro da capa verde” 
(death to the book with the green cover.) 

On the 13th of October, 1831, the town of Tijuco had its name 
changed to Diamantina. 

(Tonditions under the Junta Administrativa grew worse from year 
to year and in 1832 and 1833 the people suffered starvation. _ Xo lessen 
the distress the Junta gave permission to pan gold and diamonds in 
certain places in the district. By Royal decree of December 24th, 1845 
the Junta Administrativa was dissolved and the hated “Royal Extraction” 
disappeared. 

From this time on the land was parcelled out in lots and leased for 
periods up to 10 years at a rental that varied somewhat from time to 
time commencing at about 2 cents for 4 square meters and was after- 


— 20 — 


wards reduced in 1852 to V 2 cents per 100 square meters per year. 

How many diamonds have been found in the Serro Frio district is 
impossible definitely to calculate. We know that the amount exported 
was enormous. As early as 1734 to avoid a slump in prices because 
of overproduction diamond mining was for a time entirely forbidden by 
royal decree. 

The contractors paid in their day an enormous direct tax and through 
the Royal Extraction the Crown got 1,354,770 carats diamonds besides 
80 stones each weighing 17% carats or over. Most of the purest diamonds 
were smuggled out of the country and no record kept of them at all. 

An English naturalist and diamond merchant from London, by the 
name of John Mawe, traveled through the district of Serro Frio in 1807 
by permission of the government. He says in his account: “As the 
diamonds of Serro Frio are very beautiful they are always in great 
demand and were a grand speculation. Diamonds came to Europe in 
such quantities that it was feared prices would fall. To prevent this 
a rumor was sent out by design to the effect that the Brazilian dia¬ 
monds were far inferior to those from India. Other speculators pub¬ 
lished the statement that these stones were not from America but were 
sent from India to Rio de Janeiro and from there exported to Europe. 
All these erroneous communications occasioned a distrust and falling 
off of price in Brazilian diamonds. It became possible for a few specu¬ 
lators to monopolize the business. They sent the diamonds to India 
from Brazil and from India they w'ere shipped to England as real In¬ 
dian stones. From England they were sent far and wide throughout 
Europe, sold at the highest price and acknowdedged everywhere as the 
most beautiful Indian diamonds. This went to show that they were 
not inferior to the choicest diamonds from Golconda, India. The peo¬ 
ple learned the facts in the case, but the distrust against Brazilian 
diamonds rankled in their minds for some time. It can, however, be 
truly said that Europe depends almost wholly upon Brazil for her sup¬ 
ply of diamonds.” John Mawe had good reasons for saying that the sale of 
smuggled diamonds amounted to ten million dollars. He knew the 
price and quality and could speak as an expert. 

Manuel Fereira da Camara Bittencourt was the Crown’s Intendant 
in Tijuco from 1807 to 1822. He was one of Brazil’s greatest scientists. 
He had stu.died chemistry and mineralogy in a numher of the coun¬ 
tries of Europe, and among them Norway and Sweden, and especially at 
the University in Upsala, which at that time was famous, having as 
teacher of botany the great Linne, and Scheele as teacher of Chemistry. 
Intendant Bittencourt was the first native of Brazil to reach that high 
station. 

At the audience granted him by King John the 6th, he said: “The 
diamond fields in Minas have all the conditions for a grand develop¬ 
ment. The future is most promising if practcal methods are pursued. 
There is an inexhaustible supply of never-ending wealth, of which we 
have heretofore secured but a small part, because we have not under¬ 
stood how to operate in the right manner.” 

Immediately after the Junta had lost its power conditions were 
again favorable to the seekers of gold and diamonds. Those who were 
without capital went freelv about digging and washing and kept the 
profits for themselves. The grantees who formerly had the right to 
mine and wash gold free on delivering the diamonds they found to the 
Crown, now sold both gold and diamonds on their own account. Fabu- 


THp CHARITY HOSPITAL^ DIAMANTINA 

























' :i ’ 

' ■ 

-va. ' '• 




;> j 



— 23 — 


lous wealth was taken out of the earth. These few years are said to 
have yielded more diamonds than the 70 years under the “Royal Ex¬ 
traction.” 

The reports taken from the book of Dr. Santos partly literally 
translated end at this point. He had naturally no other object in view 
in writing this book than simply to preserve and communicate to his own 
Brazilian countrymen the history of the Serro Frio district. 

What occurred after the Royal Extraction in the year of 1845, and 
down to the time he wrote the book, 1862, is not fully gone into, only 
that the land was leased in parcels, and mining was thus a private 
enterprise. The fact that he says nothing of this period, would naturally 
lead to the conclusion, that there were at this time no great under¬ 
takings. The work continued, however, according to ■ hearsay.—Men 
with little or no capital, went about in small groups with their bateas- 
from place to place where work was easiest. These people were mainly 
negroes and mulattoes, who required but little tp live. When a. 
find was made, they rested, 'and when they had consumed their means^ 
they set out with their batea again. 

The discovery of diamonds in South Africa, about the year 1870 
caused a fall in the price of the brute diamonds from $14.00 to $3.00 
a carat, causing practically cessation of operations in a larger /measure. 
A great number of the wealthier families moved eastward and ;went 
into coffee growing, a business just then in a most 'flourishing state. 
They continued to own vast stretches of mining land however and the 
Videgal family is one of these. 

Diamond Cutting. ' 

On the 31st of October, I went to visit the greatest diamond cut¬ 
ting establishment near Diamantina. It is about an hour’s walk from 
the town and lies on a little stream which furnishes sufficient water¬ 
power for grinding. It is owned by Antonio Eulalio de Souza, the 
greatest diamond merchant in town. There were in all 18 wheels. The 
employees were all natives and one-half of them were girls. A young 
man who has learned his trade earns about $25.00 a month and boards 
himself, and the girls, who do the polishing, about half as much. They 
work eleven hours a da)^ The rough diamond is placed in a doughlike 
mass of cement the size of an egg. As the cement hardens the diamond 
becomes fairly embedded in it. When two such lumps of cement with 
the diamond stuck in them are prepared, the cutter takes them in his 
hands and rubs them together. They cut one another and the falling 
dust is gathered in a small box. It is hard work and great callouses 
are formed on the hands. As the cutting proceeds the diamond has to 
be taken out and turned. This is dfne by warming the cement a little. 
After this cutting of the stone it is polished on a small steel wheel cov¬ 
ered with a sort of emery made of the diamond dust saved from the 
cutting. The foreman was quick to judge of the qualities and value 
of the stones. 

There are 23 of these diamond cutting establishments in the dis¬ 
trict of Diamantina, having altogether 229 wheels, only 60 of which 
were in operation while I was down there, and of these 25 were im 
the town of Diamantina. 


— 24 


Visiting Boa Vista. 

Nov. 4th, Mr. Schlytter and I went to Boa Vista on muleback. It 
is about 12 miles from Diamantina. A French company with head- 
-ciuarters in Paris has for a number of years carried on diamond mining 
there. The machinery was inadequate and the appliances chiefly of wood 
worked rather poorly and it is run by electricity the power for the 
generating of which is furnished by a little river called Santa Maria. 

Boa Vista (beautiful view) is on a plateau (chapada) 7 miles from 
Jequitinhonha river on a creek called Bom Successo (Good Luck). 
From this creek water is pumped to the mines a distance of 

1,500 meters (4,500 feet.) and upward about 95 meters through 
iron pipes 12 inches in diameter. The mines are situated in a declivity 
of red earth, sand and gravel. The excavation is perhaps 50 to 75 feet 
deep at which depth is a 3 or 4 foot bed of diamond yielding gravel. 
They wash away the worthless upper layers by flooding and then 

running the water off again through a cut. It carried away the loosened 
earth which is red as crushed brick. The gravel carrying diamonds 

is then taken to the machinery about 500 feet down the slope in 
about the same way. Here it is sifted and lifted up into the sluices that 
carry it to three different condensation cylinders which sift it over 

again. From these cylinders the mass, according to the coarseness of 
the gravel is run into smaller sluices, and then to slanting tables 6 
feet long and 4 feet wide. These tables have a jarring motion and stones 
of about the same size dance about on its surface. A trustworthy 
man stands on each side of the table. They pass their hands through 
the water among the stones and pick out the diamonds they thus dis¬ 
cover. Aird so this mill runs the whole day. By specific gravity the 
smaller diamonds are gathered into a box under the floor. This bo.x 
is locked and the key is carried by the Director who empties it every 
evening. 

To' separate the small diamonds in the sluices little balls made of a 
substance of about the same specific gravity as the diamonds, are used. 
These balls roll with the slower, less perfectly rounded diamonds and 
help them on. The electric machine is 80 horsepower. The heaviest 
single part of which weighed 3,000 kilograms (6,600 lbs.) and wa^ 
taken 125 miles over the mountains by ox teams. There is a little ma¬ 
chine shop where they have a few tools and extra pieces and there is 
iilso a mechanic to do repair work and run the machine. 

We arrived at the Director’s residence in the forenoon. It is half 
-a mile from the mines and is lighted by electricity and has a telephone 
connection with the mines. The Director is a young Frenchman. He 
dives there alone with his wife and keeps native servants. He gave us 
an invitation to breakfast which we gladly accepted. Later he showed 
us about the place and in the afternoon treated us to dinner at his home. 

He has a large iron safe in his house for storing his diamonds; 
he also has guns, revolvers and other weapons—quite a little arsenal. 
Tie has some French furniture and lives very comfortably though lone¬ 
some in those naked and unpopulated parts. 

A great deal depends on the honesty of the Director and his fore¬ 
man. The old ramschackle works which constitute the company’s ma¬ 
chinery seem to invite thefts and losses. According to their report to 
the shareholders June 30, 1902, they had from April 12th, to the last 
of December, 1902, washed 11,556 cubic meters of gravel taken out 1,266 


VTP'^ vlSTA DIAMOND WORKINGS 

















carats of diamonds, averaging 11 carats for every 100 cubic meters. They 
washed only 50 meters in a working day. If we place the value of 100 
francs per carat for the rough diamond, then this company in eight and 
a half months, secured diamonds to the value of 126,600 francs. The 
report explains the cause of the small output viz: Too little water in the 
river Bom Successo, where they get their supply. Two hundred and eighty 
cubic meters per hour was needed and often 125 cubic meter was all . 
they got. Too much water is wasted in washing away the loose earth; 
the machinery is old-fashioned and poor and not suitable for the cascalho 
(gravel) which yields the largest per cent of diamonds. The substance 
which yields up to 20 carats per 100 cubic meter is impossible to work 
with it. The latter is more cohesive. The report refers to a new 
separating method without the use of water which they would like 
to try. Meanwhile they will continue as before to patch the machinery 
as best they can. . • - ' 

Whether much, little or nothing is lost by thievery the report does 
not say. The laborers are all Brazilians with three or four Frenchmen 
who are foremen and experts. 

I asked the Director as we stood near the foreman at the vibrating 
tables where the stones of the same size came quivering from the con¬ 
centration, “How in the world can you keep from having your diamonds 
stolen?” He shrugged his shoulders, turned on his heel and said in 
French, “On pent se her a ces homines la” (We trust these people). 

These fields have been re-discovered within the last two or three 
years, and many a head is now filled with speculation as to the sort of 
machinery that shall be of the greatest practical use. All are agreed that 
the land, and more or less inaccessible river-beds, are rich, but there are 
countless ideas, some very crude, others more developed, as to the best 
method of getting at them. 

Near the Director’s residence in Boa Vista stands a shade tree of 
unusual size. The trunk measured perhaps 12 feet up to the nearest 
branches. These grew straight out from the trunk on all sides, and 
formed a shady bower of over 100 feet in diameter under this one tree. 
Here they had benches, tables, etc. The branches and the leaves were 
so thick that the sun did not penetrate. The Director wished the Chicago 
company success in its dredging operations which were not much under¬ 
stood by him. 

Returning from Boa Vista we were caught in a violent rain storm 
drenching us to the skin. We were altogether unprepared and rode three 
hours in this manner. We were not cold nor did the wetting leave any 
bad effects. Our camaradas never wore rain coats, but rode day after 
day with onlv a hat, shirt and trousers on. They took this as a matter 
of course. Their clothes dried on their bodies as they were often without 
a change of clothing on their trips. 

Our usual protection against the rain was an ordinary soft ^ hat 
which we turned down, a water-proof cape to the knees, English gaiters 
to the hips and riding boots. Some use a long cape reaching to the 
ankles together with the boots. 

When we returned to Diamantina a man named Thomas Rouse was 
waiting for us. He was 57 years old and was born of English parents 
near Ouro Preto, (black gold) Minas. His father was at that time fore¬ 
man at Morro Velho (old hill) mine which was then and is still run by an 
English company. Morro Velho mine is one of the largest of its kind 
in the world and has produced a wonderful amount of gold in the course 


of time. It is known to history and lies 100 miles south of Diaman- 
tma. Thomas Rouse was very brown and tanned, but was very 
strong and well built, looking like an athlete among the other natives. 
He spoke English perfectly, though he had never seen the coast. He 
had sauntered about his whole life in the Serro Frio district as Faisca- 
dor (miner) and often did well. He owned a lavra (diamond washing 
place) which he was walling to sell, otherwis'C his object was to 
call and offer his services as he was well acquainted and knew all the 
old ways of mining. We told him of the company’s intention to dredge the 
Jequitinhonha river to begin with. The idea struck him favorably; he 
had all his life long wondered and studied how he might get at the gold 
and diamonds he knew to be at the bottom of this river. He left his ad¬ 
dress, said goodbye, mounted his mule and started for the country in a 
gallop. 

(3ther faiscadores, among them an Austrian, came at various times 
to talk with me, and if possible to sell either a lavra, a few diamonds or 
some gold nuggets, which they offered for sale. 

A traveler, arriving as 1 did, attracted quite a little attention among 
these isolated people. Diamantina has probably 9,000 inhabitants, and only 
10 or 12 Europeans or Americans, who come and go. 

The following day 1 received an invitation to dinner from Antonio 
Eulalio de Souza; his whole family, his partner, Senhor Anselnio de 
Andrade, and a number of friends were also on hand. Taking all 
circumstances .into consideration it was an excellent meal. It is regarded 
a great honor for a stranger to be invited to take a meal with the wife 
and daughters of the house. Antonio Eulalio. as he is popularly called, 
is a very enterprising man. He has a store well stocked with merchandise 
of all kinds, has many clerks and does a large business. He buys and 
sells diamonds and is the representative of Luiz de Rezende who is Rio 
Janeiro’s leading jeweler and diamond merchant. Senhor Rezende is 
known all over the world as a leading diamond merchant. In Paris his 
place of business is No. 31 Place de la Madeleine. 

Seeing the River. 

In the early part of November we set out to look over the Jequitin¬ 
honha river; the road took us to Mandanha, about 15 miles from Dia¬ 
mantina. Here we remained over night with one, Figureido, an old 
mulatto. Mandanha is situated on both sides of the river and has about 
I'OOO inhabitants. An old bridge about 100 paces long crosses the river. 
As far as the eye can sec up stream and down, there is apparently sand 
bottom and sand banks. We went down along the river on the east side 
till we reached Lagoa Secca (dry lake.) We crossed the river twice in 
a couple of hours time. The bend in the river is so great, that by crossing 
at the narrowest part of the land between, we saved much time. The river 
being shallow we took the burdens from the backs of the mules and 
drove them into the water; they half swam over while we followed with 
our baggage in a canoe. The river grows gradually larger as continually 
little rivers and streams flow into it. These all show more or less 
evidences of having been worked for gold or diamonds some time in 
the past. 

There is an almost overgrown path along the Jequitinhonha and it 
is exceedingly difficult to advance. The shrubs are of a thick growth 
and below Lagoa Secca guides, who can be depended upon, are hard 
to get. 


TYPICAL NATIVE DWELLING ALONG THE JEQUITINHONHA RIVER. 















No one seemed to know the way along the river, though they knew 
the road on the Chapadas very well. 

There are large stretches of the river well adapted for dredging, 
not only the bed and the hanks of the river, but some distance beyond. 
J here appears to be a possibility that the course of the river has not 
always been where it is now, and in such places the dredge could work 
through the sand and gravel to the old river bed. There are hillocks and 
slopes, mountains with under brush, and the river makes numerous turns, 
so one finds it difficult to determine where it goes at times. For long 
distances there was not a sign of any work having been done. An.d 
then again we came to immense heaps of sand and gravel that had been 
washed sometime at the very brink of the river. Just below Mandanha 
there are no high mountains nor any real flat prairie, but the tops of 
round and half round gravel and pebble piles may be seen all along 
the way, and the same old red soil is present everywhere. The current 
of the river is about 3 miles an hour with no water-falls to speak of, 
though there are a few little rapids. From Lagoa Secca and down to 
Santa Cruz the river has in many places sandstone which is rather soft 
and a dredge will be able to crush and disturb a great deal of it. The 
largest finds of diamonds have occurred in potholes in the smouldering 
sandstone rocks in the riverbed. Such finds have been irregular. The 
ordinary finds of diamonds occur in the stratum of casalho down in the 
ground at certain depths on the chapadas and in the river bottom. 

When the natives now search for diamonds in these regions, they 
dig their way down in between, and under stones and rocks but don’t 
think of moving or crushing them. We saw several canoes on the river 
fishing for diamonds with a sort of sack scraper fetching up gravel from 
the bottom. They washed this gravel on the river shore. 

The fifth day we dragged our weary way over to Santa Cruz, a 
distance of about 125 miles from Diamantina, along the river. We were 
both hungry and travel-stained when we arrived. We slept at night in 
the filthiest little negro huts. A couple of the mules took sick on the 
way and were left behind to be called for later by one of the camaradas. 
One night we were compelled to abandon the hut we were in and slept 
put of doors even though it rained a little. The odor of came secca 
(dried meat), which hung in long strips from the ceilings and walls, was 
intolerable. 

Extremely few people travel along the river, the way being almost 
im.passable. In the shrubbery there are millions of carrapatos, gray 
colored, swift, hungry, transparent plantlice which seem to sit on the 
leaves and branches everywhere watching keenly for some man or beast 
approching near enough to light upon. The faintest touch of the bush 
and they let themselves go in the air stricking either the mule or the 
rider and with incredible swiftness they run for lodgment where the 
chance of disturbance is least. They locate on the head of the mules, 
inside their ears, under the belly and about the Lind legs; they quickly 
bury themselves in the hair and penetrate the skin with their sharp 
suckers. In about half a day the color changes from gray to dark 
red as they fill up with blood and in a few days the greedy insect reaches 
the size and appearance of a small cherry. They arrange themselves 
in groups on the bodies of the mules and constant cleaning of the animals 
is required when traveling through the thick shrubbery near the river. 

The carrapatos are equally pestilential towards human beings, es¬ 
pecially strangers in those parts, but they are in that case, of course, 


easily dislodged. While on mule-back the rider does not observe their 
sting and on arriving at the stopping place for the night the first worry 
is to find sufficient privacy to locate and exterminate the carrapatos 
which have foi.md their way next to the body. It becomes necessary to 
strip naked and call in one of the camaradas to assist in the hunt. Being 
as a rule dark in the evening one needs a supply of candles for this 
purpose. In the native huts they use simply a sort of wick that is 
steeped in a small clay saucer full of oil or fat. Sometimes we found 
from 25 to 50 carrapatos on our persons and some of them already as 
large as a small shirt button. It requires a hard pull to tear one loose 
and then the prong like suckers are left in the skin, forming a small 
itching lump which remains some three weeks. The real small carra¬ 
patos are the .worst ones to contend with, because they seem to dig them¬ 
selves into the skin and require a knife or sharp instrument to scrape 
them loose; this awkward situation requires help and the camaradas are 
quite skilled in the operation laughing themselves into hvsterics over 
the predicament of the helpless traveler. The blankets which we carried 
filled up with carrapatos and repeatedly during the night we grew 
desperate, kicking everything in the air, lit the candles and helped one 
another. After much excitement, fun and some profanity, sleep forced 
itself upon us and in the morning we picked ourselves clean and started 
for the next day’s ride. 

These carrapatos are the meanest little insects on earth and the 
sight of one arouses irresistable determination to kill without quarter. 
A clumsy man is called a Macaco (monkey) and a mean man is called 
a carrapato. 

At Santa Cruz is a little country store and here we again crossed the 
river. It was very broad but so shallow that the animals waded 
over. About 5 or 6 miles above Santa Cruz the Maccahubas river flows 
into the Jequitinhonha, and at their confluence are great banks and bars 
of sand and stones. This place is considered rich. Not only gold but 
more especially diamonds, have been found in great quantities here. 

Three or four Faiscadores took out, according to their report last 
year 32 oitavos (544 carats) of diamonds on the banks of the river. 
We visited this place and to judge by appearance the attempt made was 
very insignificant. No work was going on while we were there, but it 
was expected that in a few weeks some faiscadores would begin to operate 
again in the banks of the river. We went up the river in canoes to the 
mouth of the Maccahubas. The banks and bottom of the Jequitinhonha 
on this stretch were rocky except short intervening stretches of sand 
and gravel, judging from the appearance of the banks. The rocks at this 
place were also a kind of crumbling sandstone among which a dredge 
could probably do considerable excavation and work its way from one 
dredgeable stretch to another. This matter is however for an expert in 
dredging to pass upon. 

Maccahubas has produced great quantities of diamonds, and there 
are found the peculiar stones called Alambriados (amber colored). These 
are sparkling and bright, and can be mounted without being cut. The 
sizes are small but these stones are rare and greatly admired by the 
ladies of Brazil, who often prefer them to cut stones, called brilhantes 
(brilliants). I bought, rather cheap a couple of alambriados from a 
boatman and faiscador. There are plenty to be had if one only knew the 
value and how to select good ones. The store keeper at Santa Cruz is also 
a diamond merchant. He is a son-in-law of Senhor Brandao, who is 


VIEW OF WORKING ON JEQUITINHONHA AT ST. ANTONIO. 













— 35 


the largest diamond dealer in those parts and owns a very large Fazenda 
about eight miles from Santa Cruz. We paid a visit to Mr. Brandao 
and found him a very kind, hospitable man. His Fazenda covers about 
16 square miles, is well stocked with cattle, mules and pigs; he raises 
much corn, beans and sugar-cane, has a grist mill and a distillery on the 
fazenda, keeps a large number of mulatto servants and lives in compara¬ 
tively opulent style like a large land-owner in our Southern States. 

The Brazilian Diamond, Gold and Developing Company has bought 
and has under contract fourteen government concessions on the river 
Jequitinhonha; about one-half of those concessions are above and the 
others below the river Maccahubas. Each one of these concessions is 
one legoa quadrada (square league) in area. One legoa is 6 6-10 kilo¬ 
meters or about 4 miles, hence each concession is about 16 square miles 
and the entire area of the river bed banks and adjoining land, which the 
company has under this contract amounts to 224 square miles. 

At the request of Thomas G. Schlytter, the government of the State 
of Minas put a Brazilian engineer, named David Jardim, to work last fall 
in the month of October to survey, measure and plat these concessions, 
the government promising to guarantee the titles as soon as the survey 
is finished. This work is now in progress with about eight or ten men 
and is calculated to be finished early this summer. Until the survey is made 
it is not possible to state the length of river bed, which is included in 
these concessions because some of them are long and narrow and others 
are about square but they are all to contain one legoa quadrada each. 

Scattered all along the river are some squatting settlers holding title 
to small patches by reason of 30 years’ homestead residence with payment 
of a small annual tax, and these little holdings must be ascertained, platted 
and deducted from the concessions; that work is also being done by the 
engineer now at work. 

The annual tax is at the present time 120 milreis ($30.00) per 
concession. There is considerable good timber near the river at Lagoa 
Secca and Santa Cruz in different places and a steam saw could be 
employed there to good advantage. 

From Santa Cruz to Terra Branca (White Earth) is 7 or 8 miles 
and there Jequitinhonha has some rough rapids. They are shallow and full 
of rock with short distances in between where the river flows slowly 
over sandy bottom. 

From Terra Branca to Diamantina is four days hard riding over 
the plateaus (chapadas). The land was very rich and productive espe¬ 
cially near the river, but there was no tilling of the ground, nothing but 
litte negro or mulato huts where the people idled away their lives to no 
purpose, except to exist. 

I pitied the beautiful children I saw growing up in these environments. 
In spite of their isolation, ignorance and indolence they were as happy as 
Diogenes in his barrel. They never suffered hunger; the climate wa.s 
healthful. The people sang, the children played all day in the bushes of 
rivulets among the chickens, cats, dogs, and lively little pigs, bringing to 
their homes as playthings gaudy butterflies (borboletas), insects, crystals, 
agates, and other glistening stones of all shades and shapes. To refresh 
themselves they drank of the pure, clear water in the brooks,^ picking 
fruits and berries as they romped about breathing the fresh, invigorating 
air of the high plateau of Serro Frio. Toil and drudgery seemed far from 
their comprehension; they simply lived and nature provided. 


Even the very mules in those parts had an innate contempt for work; 
in the lead of a mule troupe was usually placed an old horse with a bell 
round his neck to keep the mules together and such a horse was called a 
madringa. If a packsaddle was placed on the madringa the mules lost 
all respect for him and his leadership came to an end. Taking ofif his 
load the mules followed him patiently again. 

It would have required at least three weeks to make a trip to Grao 
Mogol and back to Diamantina, and as I had other things to attend to 
I did not make the journey and hence 1 cannot describe these concessions; 
they are 33 in number and each is about 16 sq. miles (making a total of 
528 square miles) so the company has there an immense area under con¬ 
tract. Dr. Catao Gomes Jardim has made careful investigation of the 
Grao Mogol region and the company has already published his report. 
I paid a visit to this estimable old gentleman while I was in Diamantina; 
he enjoys a high reputation as a mineralogical student and an honorable 
man; he is about 70 years old and is the father of the Government 
engineer surveying the Jequitinhonha river concessions. He told me 
among other things that Jequitinhonha is a composite Indian word and 
means approximately “River where fish is trapped,” Dr. Jardim has a 
fine, cosy home with a quaint garden, in the heart of Diamantina, and pos¬ 
sesses a rare collection of minerals and books on that subject. We made 
arrangements with Dr. Campos of Sao Paulo, to go to tfie Grao Mogol 
district to survey, prospect and plat those concessions for the companv. 

Pretty good farming land can be bought cheap just outside the Dis- 
tricto Diamantino. Inside the district farming cannot be carried on except 
for purposes of supplying the needs of the mining operations. There is no 
market for farm products and the land is very uneven but the arable 
patches in these mountains are very fertile and there are great opportunities 
for an isolated quiet rural existence with many splendid outside chances 
for an enterprising family. Taxes are light; religion is free, though the 
Catholic prevails. In Diamantina was a very flourishing masonic lodge 
to which some of the wealthiest men in town belonged. The schools are 
free, but the system is very imperfect. The constitution of the Republic 
of Brazil was adopted in 1890 and follows in all essentials our own con¬ 
stitution and the same is true of the general legislation. The courts recog¬ 
nize the civil law (Roman Law) as the fountain head. The language of 
the republic of Brazil is Latin in its origin and possesses the rich historical 
treasures of that great mother of speech. 

Before leaving Diamantina I visited the adjacent diamond fields of 
Sao Jao da Chapada, Sopa and Calderao. Mining at the former place was 
very profitable till 1874, when the price dropped from 14 to 3 dollars per 
carat by reason of the opening of the South African mines. All work 
ceased when the slaves were freed in 1888. Thus ended the old method 
of mining in Diamantina, but now it ought to he profitable again, even by 
the old system, because the price of diamonds is higher than ever before 
and is still raising. 

At Sao Joao da Chapada I obtained my information from Justino 
Fernandez, a highly respected and well-to-do mulatto 62 years of age. 
He was formerly a slave and bought his freedom for two contos ($500.00) 
in 1860. He had resided 46 years at this place. He does very little work 
with the batea now. He had perhaps 50 diamonds to sell from V 2 to 4 
carats each, which he had partly found and bought within two or three 
months. 

In sopa (soup) a little batea work is carried on by the owner, Givotti, 


BUILDING KNOWN AS LUIZ D2 REZENDH'S HOUSE, DIAMANTINA 







































who also had a few diamonds for sale. GivottI is a wealthy Mulatto, who 
has no idea of modern expedients or methods. 

Large capital would be needed to start work there in the manner 
suitable to the requirements. One or two men even with a little capital 
can accomplish nothing. 

Summing up. 

^ 1. Jequitinhonha runs through Districto Diamantino like a backbone. 
The records of the earlier workings and the reports handed down through 
several generations prove that enormous fortunes were taken out of the 
Jequitinhonha in both gold and diamonds; that the tributary creeks and 
rivulets flowing through the diamond district and emptying into the 
Jequitinhonha have been washed over and over again with the hatea, and 
that immense piles of tailings from old lavras (washings) along these 
creeks are still being washed to advantage by the natives in the old primi¬ 
tive manner; that the Jequitinhonha itself was turned, flumed and washed 
aggressively above the town of Mandanha; that below Mandanha the river 
carries too much water for successful operations with the batea; that 
the company’s claims under contract are all below Mandanha, (except the 
separate purchase of three short claims at Itaipaba) that for a distance 
of about 150 miles below Mandanha down to the Grao Mogol country the 
river banks in certain places have been worked and faiscadores (roving 
miners) are now from time to time making large finds of rich diamond 
gravel along the river course; that upon the river itself below Mandanha 
the natives in many places are using canoes and a peculiarly old fashioned 
contrivance for scraping loose and fishing up in a sack some gravel from 
the bottom of the river taking it ashore to be washed when the canoes are 
full; that the numerous tributary creeks and rivulets are carrying gold 
bearing sand into the Jequitinhonha from the chapadas (plateaus) where 
so many fortunes have been made in gold washing alone; that many 
individual miners are now washing for gold profitably here and there all 
over the entire diamond region; that the Districto Diamantino may be said 
to be approximately about 400 miles long and about 200 miles wide; that 
the company’s claims on the Jequitinhonha take in particularly one river 
bend where a canal could be cut almost entirely with a dredge (upon the 
statement of Dr. Campos) and thus several miles of river bottom could be 
laid bare while the dredge might be plowing through valuable deposits 
across the narrow neck of land; that historically, geographically and 
traditionally speaking the Jequitinhonha carries fabulous wealth of both 
gold and diamonds in its course and should afford unequaled opportunities 
for making fortunes in operations with the American dredge. The fourteen 
concessions on the Jequitinhonha river were described by metes and bounds 
in the contract for sale; the old metes and bounds such as trees, ditches 
lavras, creeks, etc., could no longer be located with certainty and the 
government was then appealed to for a conclusive survey, remeasuring and 
establishment of boundaries of these concessions and their official plat¬ 
ting in the registry office at Diamantina. Engineer David Jardim was 
appointed by the government for this work, as already stated. It has been 
difficult to make this survey as the rainy season has caused many delays 
in locating points and places. 

2. That the question of transporting the company’s machinery has 
been investigated, and that from the present end of the railroad at a point 
called Curvello to the upper limit of the company’s 14 concessions is some¬ 
what less than 100 miles and fully two-thirds of the way has a passable 


— 40 — 


oxcart road and the balance of the road can be fixed up at comparatively 
small expense; that there are several men in that region engaged in trans¬ 
portation of this kind, and that they can put up security for the fulfilment 
of their contracts. 

3. That the 33 concessions which the company has under contract 
down in Grao Mogol are very valuable property. Mr. Brandao near 
Santa Cruz, of whom I have already spoken, lives about half way between 
Diamantina and Grao Mogol and he is one of the heaviest buyers of 
diamonds from the Grao Mogol faiscadores; he had a considerable num¬ 
ber of carbonados (black carbons used in diamond drilling) on 
hand besides ordinary diamonds, when I saw him, which ha 
had recently bought down in Grao Mogol and had just before 
I came down there, sent off to Diamantina a large shipment 
of stones from Grao Mogol. There being a large number of 
indolent squatters living here and there on small patches of land it 
became necessary to survey the concessions in order to learn how much 
land. is. held by these squatters within the company’s limits, because the 
purchase price for the tract was to be reduced according to the extent 
of the holdings by squatters. For this work we secured the valuable service.s 
of Dr. Campos who at the same time was to prospect the property and 
definitely locate the limits of the concessions. He started on his work 
in December, 1903, in the early part of the rainy season, and had a most 
difficult task before him. (Upon report from Mr. Schlytter the work 
of Dr. Campos and his assistants in Grao Mogol was completed towards 
the end of May; the company gets 25 concessions instead of 33 and the 
purchase price was reduced so materially as to make practically a new 
deal much in the company’s favor.) A complete report from Dr. Campos 
will be sent to the company in due course, but it will require considerable 
time for him to plat the concessions and write down his observations 
upon the richness of the ground. The region is very rough and lying about 
150 miles north of Diamantina the climate is a little warmer. 

4. That absolute ownership of the mining lands and rivers in Dis- 
tricto Diamantino cannot be obtained but simply government leasehold 
concessions, which run on forever on payment of taxes by the concession¬ 
aire from year to year. 

That good titles to these concessions can be obtained but that careful 
local examination, survey and platting must be made according to rules 
before the government will guarantee the titles. 

That the government is staple and that European immigration largely 
from Germany, into the southern states of Brazil and large investments 
of English capital in industrial enterprises have reduced very materially 
the possibility of revolutions. 

5. That the Brazilians possess many excellent qualities; that they 
yearn for development and realize their industrial weakness and that they 
welcome capital, machinery and methods from the United States. 

6. That the yellow fever and bubonic pests are not to be dreaded 
as much as formerly because they are filth diseases, and rivers, harbors, 
cities and homes are being made more and more sanitary from time to 
time. 

7. That the Brazilian Diamond Gold & Developing Company, being a 
pioneer in this field, has had to feel its way carefully, seeking boittom 
prices for land, measuring, surveying, platting and investigating titles. 
The old system of conveyance and registration was extremely loose and 


— 41 


hazardous, and upon our initiative that matter has been greatly improved 
and revised. 

. 8. That the organizers of the company were deficiently advised in 

the beginning but that essential points relative to the lands in question as 
well as Brazilian laws and conditions bearing on the entire enterprise have 
now been thoroughly investigated. 

9. That Thomas G. Schlytter, who gave up a good position with 
a large firm in Chicago and volunteered his services for the company in 
Brazil, is a remarkably bright and clear headed young man with a thorough 
business training; that he speaks and writes fluently, French, Portuguese, 
English and German, and that through his persistent, fearless and pains¬ 
taking services on the premises for over one year the company’s affairs 
in Brazil, have been placed on a sound footing. An agreement was made 
with him for another year’s service. 

Starting for Home. 

Before leaving Diamantina I said a hearty farewell to my host, Matta 
Machado, and his amiable family, the district judge, the company’s local 
attorney, Augusto Mario Calderia Brant, and wife, who is of English 
descent, to Antonio Eulalio de Souza and to many other Brazilian business 
men of short acquaintance. 

The evening before my departure Senhor Anselmo called and asked 
me to have the kindness to take with me, over the mountains and down to 
Luiz de Rezende, in Rio de Janeiro, 40 contos de reis ($10,000) in paper 
money and placed the roll on the table. At first I hesitated and called 
his attention to the possibility of loosing the money on the way and that 
it would be at his own risk; he persisted in his request and I finally 
asked him what sort of receipt he wanted. He shrugged his shoulders 
and said “Nao e necessario” (It is not needed). He left the roll with me 
and said goodbye in the kind Brazilian way, and wished me a pleasant 
journey. 

We carried the money down to Rio and delivered the roll to 
Mr. Rezende, who thanked us for our kindness. This incident is a 
fragmentary picture of the old-fashioned confidence still prevailing in 
Brazil in business life. Large shipments of diamonds and gold are made 
in the same manner from the Serro Frio district to Rio de Janeiro. 

The trip to Rio went smoothly enough, likewise the trip to Sao Paulo 
to consult Dr. Derby and Dr. Campos. Dr. Derby has an elegant office 
as president of the Geological Commission. He is a prominent man of 
international reputation as Geologist. He recommended Dr. Campos as 
an honorable man and a skillful mining engineer and further said that he 
would personally stand for the professional work Dr. Campos might do 
for the company. 

Dr. Derby himself made a tour of scientific research into Districto 
Diamantino some 4 or 5 years ago. He did not then snecially investigate 
the Jequitinhonha river with a view of exploiting its banks and bottom. 
The learned doctor stated however, that the American dredge had proven 
itself an efficient and advanced appliance in gold extraction and that 
similar dredges equipped additionally for diamond separation on the Jequi¬ 
tinhonha river, when properly directed and honestly managed, might show 
rich results. He informed us of an English comoany just organized with 
considerable canital for exploiting recently nurchased diamond ground at 
Augua Suja (dirty water) about 130 miles from Diamantina. Dr. William 
Derby is a man about 50 years old, well preserved in health and glad to 


- 42 — 


meet fellow Americans from the states, though he is a Brazilian in thought 
and domestic attachment. 

The Geological and Geographical Commission in Sao Paulo was insti¬ 
tuted 18 years ago upon the proposition and initiative of Dr. Alberto Lof- 
gren, a Swede by birth and a graduate from the University of Upsala. Dr, 
Derby completed his course at Cornell University. He was made presi¬ 
dent of the commission and its professor of geology. In the absence of the 
president Dr. Lofgren takes his place. Dr. Lofgren came to Brazil about 
the year of 1880 to arrange the late Professor Regnell’s botanical collec¬ 
tions. He has resided there ever since and is now by far the greatest 
botanist of Brazil with a reputation throughout the scientific world. I 
called to see the distinguished doctor but failed to find him in his office: 

In Brazil the title of doctor is by law given the physicians, their 
emblem the “Emerald,” to pharmacists, their emblem the “Topaz,” to 
lawyers, their emblem the “Ruby,” and to engineers, their emblem, “The 
Saphire.” These emblematic stones are set in rings and worn on the 
index finger of either hand. 

The city of Sao Paulo is the capital of the state of Sao Paulo and 
is the most modern city in all Brazil; its population is about 250,000 
consisting largely of Europeans; mostly Germans and Italians. It is the 
center of the great coffee market of Brazil and is near the well-known 
export city of Santos. A Canadian company with large capital and 
headquarters in Toronto is operating the street cars of the city and is 
furnishing electric power for numerous mechanical undertakings. In S^o 
Paulo, I visited a popular young American dentist named G. Hansen, he 
was of Norwegian descent born in Philadelphia; he had been in the coun¬ 
try about seven years and made a fortune in his profession. 

One can hardly see the difference between Sao Paulo and a city of 
the same size in the United States. The milk dealers constitute probably 
the only real exception in matters of popular custom, because like all Bra¬ 
zilian inland cities the farmers take their milk cows through the streets, 
a bell around the cow’s neck and the udder bursting with milk, while 
the vendor shouts as he proceeds, “Leyte fresco” (fresh milk). 

While in Sao Paulo we secured the services of Dr. Campos to go 
to the Grao Mogol region to examine, survey and plat the 33 concessions 
as already mentioned. 

About 24 hours ride on the train took us from Sao Paulo to Rio 
through rich coffee plantations part of the way. 

On calling at the British Bank of South America in Rio I found that 
a traveler from the states had raised a loan of 25 cents per share upon a 
large block of the company’s stock; the cashier of the bank. Mr. Green, 
said that the transaction was made on the strength of the company’s good 
showing in pushing the dredging plans on the Jequitinhonha river; he had 
engaged in financial matters in Brazil for over ten years and had some 
knowledge of the Serro Frio gold and diamond region. 

In Rio I engaged, upon the recommendation of the United States 
Consul, one of the foremost lawyers to attend to the company's 
legal matters there. He is a Brazilian of high standing and 
good connections speaking French very fluently. Looking over several 
of his briefs shown me pertaining to similar cases I found that decisions 
of the courts of France were quoted freely as precedents and that the 
higher judiciary of Brazil must be familiar with the French language. 

I visited some English brokerage firms in Rio regarding the handling 


43 


of the company’s imports of machinery, etc., but left more definite ar¬ 
rangements to be made by Mr. Schlytter. 

S. S. Byron, Captain Cadogan, of the Lamport and Holt Line (En¬ 
glish) was ready to leave for New York on December 2nd, and I rushed 
my departure to reach home for Christmas, paying $135.00 for cabin 
passage. It took 18 days to New York touching at Bahia, Pernambuco 
and Barbados and passing close under the coast of the rich West Indian 
Islands of Santa Lucia, Martinique, Guadaloupe and Eustatius. 

The people of the United States have not so far led their financial 
strength and enterprising genius in the direction of Brazil. The oppor¬ 
tunities in that rich country are however almost unlimited and fertile 
states as large as Texas are still virgin ground while the populated por¬ 
tions need industrial improvements of every kind. We are as welcome 
down there, as the Germans and the English and furthermore we are 
fellow Americans to start with. 






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